Instead of being laughed off as a silly mistake, this deserves serious scrutiny. Where there is one mistake caught only by a fluke, there are probably many more that didn't get noticed. Harper's cannabis crackdown means that our courts are steadily processing more and more small-time cannabis cases. As these cases clog the system, judges will find themselves even more pressed to deal with them quickly, and be paying even less attention to the specific details in each case. These kinds of sentencing mistakes will only happen more often.

You might have seen the recent headlines: "Cannabis as addictive as heroin, major new study finds", "Study finally demolishes claims that smoking pot is harmless," and "20 years of marijuana research shows ill effects of chronic use." I'm here to tell you: don't believe the hype.

I believe we should get that process started now, instead of waiting for the laws to catch up. The sick and dying people who need cannabis medicines don't have time to wait for the government and Health Canada to get their act together.

Health Canada should be talking to our nation's hemp farmers, helping them to start harvesting and using the valuable resins they're now throwing away. This is our best source for cheap and effective cannabis medicines, with whatever potency, cannabinoid mix and psychoactive effect desired.

Health Canada has recently announced a proposed amendment that will require licensed producers (LPs) under the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) to submit information about the doctors who are prescribing cannabis to provincial medical licensing authorities. In my opinion, this is another backhanded attempt to further de-legitimize the traction cannabis has been gaining in Canada and to appease the powerful institutions that surround federally authorized access.